(MPRN-Lansing) The head of the Environmental Protection Agency says Flint’s water system still faces major problems. EPA chief Gina McCarthy sent a warning letter to Governor Rick Snyder and Flint Mayor Karen Weaver.
The letter from the EPA chief says the city’s water treatment plant is understaffed – and the water distribution network is too large and sprawling. The letter says that means the city is not ready to switch to a new system that would withdraw untreated water from Lake Huron.
The governor’s press secretary Anna Heaton says
“A lot of this stuff, we’re already aware of, and we’re working on it with the city.”
Flint Mayor Karen Weaver said in a statement that she agrees with the EPA. She says the letter shows the city needs more state and federal assistance to replace water lines, and to fix a lead contamination problem the city did not create.